Video display systems based on spatial light modulators (SLMs) are increasingly being used as an alternative to display systems using cathode ray tubes (CRTs). SLM systems provide high-resolution displays without the bulk and power consumption of CRT systems. As used for image display applications, SLMs include arrays of micro-mirrors that reflect light to an image plane. These micro-mirrors are often referred to as picture elements or “pixels”, as distinguished from the pixels of an image. This use of terminology is typically clear from context, so long as it is understood that more than one pixel of the SLM array may be used to generate a pixel of the displayed image.
Digital micro-mirror devices (DMDs) are a type of SLM, and may be used for either direct-view or projection display applications. A DMD has an array of hundreds or even thousands of micro-mechanical pixels, each having a tiny mirror that is individually addressable by an electronic signal. Depending on the state of its addressing signal, each pixel tilts so that it either does or does not reflect light to the image plane.
Generally, projecting an image from an array of pixels is accomplished by loading memory cells connected to the pixels. Once each memory cell is loaded, the corresponding pixels are reset so that each one tilts in accordance with the ON or OFF state of the data in the memory cell. For example, to produce a bright spot in the projected image, the state of the pixel may be ON, such that the light from that pixel is directed out of the SLM and into a projection lens. Conversely, to produce a dark spot in the projected image, the state of the pixel may be OFF, such that the light is directed away from the projection lens.
To achieve intermediate levels of illumination, between white (ON) and black (OFF), pulse-width modulation (PWM) techniques may be employed. The basic PWM scheme involves first determining the rate at which images are to be presented to the viewer. This establishes a frame rate and a corresponding frame-time or frame period. For example, in many modern television systems images are transmitted at 60 frames per second (i.e., 60 Hz), and each frame lasts for approximately 16.67 milliseconds. Then, the intensity resolution for each pixel is established. In a simple example, and assuming n bits of resolution, the frame-time is divided into 2n−1 equal time slices. For a 16.67 millisecond frame period and n-bit intensity values, the time slice is 16.67/(2n−1) milliseconds.
Having established these times, for each frame of the desired image pixel intensities are quantized, such that black is 0 time slices, which is the intensity level represented by the least significant bit (LSB). The LSB is the least amount of illumination intensity from the DMD and is 1 time slice, while maximum brightness, e.g., the most significant bit (MSB), is 2n−1 time slices. Each pixel's quantized intensity determines its on-time during a frame period. Thus, during a frame period, each pixel with a quantized value of more than 0 is ON for the number of time slices that correspond to its intensity. The viewer's eye integrates the pixel brightness so that the image appears as if it were generated with analog levels of light.
For generating color images with SLMs, one approach is to use three DMDs, one for each primary color of red, green, and blue (RGB). The light from corresponding pixels of each DMD is converged so that the viewer perceives the desired color. Another approach is to use a single DMD and a color wheel having sections of primary colors. Data for different colors is sequenced and synchronized to the color wheel so that the eye integrates sequential images into a continuous color image. Another approach uses two DMDs, with one switching between two colors and the other displaying a third color.
For addressing SLMs, PWM calls for the data to be formatted into “bit-planes,” each bit-plane corresponding to bit-weights of intensity values. Thus, if each pixel's intensity is represented by an n-bit value, each frame of data has n bit-planes. Each bit-plane has a 0 or 1 value for each display element. In the simple PWM example described above, during a frame period, each bit-plane is separately loaded and the pixels are addressed according to their associated bit-plane values. For example, the bit-plane representing the LSBs of each pixel is displayed for 1 time slice, whereas the bit-plane representing the MSBs is displayed for 2n/2 time slices. Because a time slice is only 16.67/(2n−1) milliseconds, the SLM must be capable of loading the LSB bit-plane (which is the shortest bit-plane) within that time. The time for loading the LSB bit-plane is the “peak data rate.” In conventional systems, when the LSB is less than the load-time of the DMD, then that bit cannot be used and image quality and efficiency suffers.
As with all display systems, the quality of the images from a DMD-based display system is improved by eliminating artifacts. Potential artifacts include temporal contouring, motion contouring, and the like. Another potential impact to the quality of the final image is altered or lost color performance generated by the display system. For example, in systems employing color wheels, such as those described above, problems with the design and/or construction of the color filters on the color wheel can affect color performance. In one specific situation, conventional filter manufacturing techniques often result in the color slope of the color filter increasing as the transmission of the filter is decreased. Such slope alteration is typically caused by a recycling effect of light as it passes through the filter. In systems employing neutral density filtering (NDF), which involves increasing the PWM signal length of a color bit to a useable length beyond the load-time while decreasing the color's intensity/amplitude with lower transmissive filter segments, the decreased transmissivity of the ND filter segments typically results in such decreased color performance. Accordingly, a need exists to compensate for such decreased color performance, especially in visual display systems that employ NDF techniques.